Page 21 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021

Having addressed some forgotten skills we soon headed on on on Ex ALLENBY’S ADVANCE In classic Brecon style we disembarked the the buses in in in in in in the the rain bombing up mags and
preparing for a a a a a a a a a heavy TAB to woodblock 33 Losing a a a a a a a a a few in in in in in in the the the the company on on the the the the way we promptly froze on on exposure to the the the the whipping wind funnelled up the the the the valleys The colour sergeants kindly reminded us of of the best piece of of warm kit – a a a a a a a shovel and
we got to work digging our our company harbour The famous sideways rain appeared in in in in spades As the the Commanding Officer would say this was one for the the the ‘box of contingencies’ The miser- able weather did provide great training value as it taught the the the the OCdts the the the the importance of of good field admin something the the the sunny delights of of previous exercises had not tested thoroughly Once returned from Wales the the Inters had more of a a a a a a a spring in in in their step when marching around camp The week after the the the successful comple- tion of ALLENBY’S marks the the the halfway point in in in the the the Commissioning Course a a a a a a milestone not to to be sniffed at at However the the the OCdts had one one more field exercise to to complete to to round off the the ‘hate- ful eight’ Defensive operations have a a a a a a a a reputation of sleep deprivation and
backbreaking digging Ex SLIM’S STAND did not disappoint on on on this front Day and
night spent digging trenches which col- lapsed every few hours was a a a a a a a a a mental challenge which the Inters endured and
overcame The lack of of sleep did however cause some unusual behaviour The most memorable of of which was when one one OCdt
believed that their collapsed trench had one one of his fellow platoon-mates
trapped at at the bottom When he he he he he started clawing away dirt with his hands he he he he he was was asked what he he he he he was was doing He looked up to to to explain and
and
saw the the OCdt
OCdt
he he he believed to to to to be be buried stood over him This exercise also challenged the the the OCdts to to to practise their CBRN (Chemical Biological Radi- ological ological and
Nuclear) training Fighting off enemy forces wearing their chemical protection suits allowed the the the OCdts to appreciate the the the difficulties of operating in in such hazardous environments Much of of the the the rest of of the the the term passed in a a a a a blur with the the the the famous log race and
drill competition fiercely contested in in the the the bid to to become sover- eign’s platoon The elephant in in in the the the room how- ever ever was the the ever-looming regimental selection boards RSB week was a a a tense time for the OCdts with interviews popping up left right and
and
cen- tre News good and
and
and
bad dripped back into the the lines and
and
nerves ran high for others still await- ing the the the the result of of their their interviews The majority were accepted by their their regiment of of choice but for a a a a a a a few clearing was a a a a a a a second chance to find home post RMAS Whilst the the the the rest of the the the the Acad- emy practised for the the the the Sovereign’s Parade these brave few battled on through round round after round round of interviews until they found their place With the the the the knowledge of of their future homes after completion of of the the the the the course the the the the the Intermediate Term could enjoy their time time over Christmas They now had had time time to reflect on on all they had had learnt throughout the the term recharging in in preparation for seniors SANDHURST
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